Cruiser's resort day pass: Why I still appreciate the concept despite the rain ruining my first experience

It was only after I had settled into my cabana at Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau, margarita in hand, that I realized I had made a significant error in judgment.

The day had begun beautifully—sunny and warm. But as I looked up through the cabana's slatted wooden roof, I noticed something I hadn't accounted for when planning my day: ominous storm clouds rolling in.

Threateningly dark storm clouds.

The kind of storm clouds that can spoil a beach day in no time.

It was at that moment, just minutes after arriving, that I realized: I wouldn't be spending the day lounging in Margaritaville as I had planned. My grand aspirations for an exciting resort day during my seven-night cruise were about to be washed away.

And, to borrow another line from the Jimmy Buffett song, it was entirely my own fault.

When I reserved the cabana weeks in advance through ResortPass, for a total of $324 including fees, I was pleased to note the fine print allowing for a full refund up until the night before my arrival. That's an unusually generous cancellation policy.

If I had only checked the weather forecast the night before, I could have canceled the booking and made alternative arrangements. But I didn’t, and as a result, I was unaware that a massive storm was approaching.

Now, my $324 payment would only provide me and my travel companion with a thorough soaking.

Within moments, the storm hit. My companion and I, along with everyone else on the beach and around the pool at Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau, rushed for cover inside the resort's main building.

I can't fault ResortPass, an 8-year-old company that more and more cruisers are turning to for arranging day visits to beach resorts during their trips.

As I will detail below, I give ResortPass high praise for its services. For cruisers, it's a handy, albeit still somewhat unfamiliar, resource for planning a fun day at a beach, pool, or water park during a cruise.

The responsibility for what became a disastrous day rested solely on my shoulders.

That being said, my significant misstep, part of an assignment to evaluate ResortPass's worth for cruisers (it was actually Dinogo covering the $324 cost, not me), highlighted a crucial warning to keep in mind when using ResortPass or any day pass service while cruising: weather can easily derail your plans.

You'll want to monitor the weather closely as the date (and cancellation deadline) for your outing draws near.

This wasn’t the only drawback I noted regarding such bookings (more on that below).

Fortunately, after getting completely soaked (and spending over an hour taking refuge from the storm in a hallway), I managed to enjoy part of the day at the resort's compact water park. The rain finally eased, the sun came out, and I got a real sense of the value that ResortPass provided.

Here’s a rundown of my experience from start to finish while testing ResortPass for a day visit to a resort during my cruise. I carried out the test anonymously — ResortPass was not informed — during a Royal Caribbean cruise from New York to the Bahamas.

The booking experience

Booking a resort day pass through ResortPass was incredibly straightforward. I simply visited the well-organized main page, entered my desired destination (Nassau in the Bahamas), and selected a date on the calendar. With just one click, I was presented with a neatly sortable list of resorts and hotels in the area offering day passes.

After that, with just a few more clicks, I secured a day pass at one of the resorts.

Choosing from the available properties was the most challenging part of the process. There were five options within a short distance of the Nassau cruise port — quite an impressive selection:

• Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau
• British Colonial Hotel Nassau
• Baha Bay Waterpark at Baha Mar Resort
• Graycliff Hotel
• Courtyard by Marriott Nassau Downtown/Junkanoo Beach

What immediately caught my attention was the range of options at several of the locations. For two of them (Baha Bay Waterpark and the Courtyard), only a day pass was offered. However, the others provided additional choices — in some cases, quite a surprising variety. These included spa passes and specific treatments, cabana rentals, day room rentals, and — at one property — even winemaking and cigar-rolling classes.

I was pleasantly surprised by the extensive range of options, which led me to dive deeper into each individual page on the site to explore further details.

Ultimately, it was one of these enticing extras — a beachside cabana paired with a day pass at Margaritaville Beach Resort — that captured my attention (more on that shortly), and I quickly made the booking.

Completing the booking was straightforward; I simply entered my credit card information on the checkout page.

Pricing details

Overall, the costs for the day passes were quite reasonable. For me, and likely for many other cruisers, this is probably the strongest case for choosing ResortPass over booking a beach or pool excursion through the cruise line.

The day passes for hotels in Nassau available on the site varied from $70 per adult at the British Colonial Hotel Nassau to $146 per adult at the Baha Mar Resort — the latter being significantly pricier as it granted access to the resort's expansive water park.

In all instances, there were discounted rates for children, generally half the adult price.

Overall, the pricing was considerably lower than the beach excursions offered by Royal Caribbean, the cruise line that brought me to Nassau. For instance, Royal Caribbean's Pearl Island Beach Escape, which provided just four hours at a private beach, cost $139 per adult ($89 for kids aged 4 to 12). Another option, the beach break at Blue Lagoon Island, was priced at $104 for adults ($74 for children aged 4 to 12).

Even the most expensive ResortPass option, which provided access to the water park at Baha Mar Resort, was still cheaper than a comparable pass for the Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark offered by Royal Caribbean ($219 for adults; $114 for kids aged 4 to 12).

My decision-making process

As mentioned earlier, the most challenging aspect of booking a day pass through ResortPass was selecting from the numerous available properties. With so many choices, it required some deliberation.

I quickly eliminated one option: the Courtyard by Marriott Nassau Downtown. Having stayed there once before boarding a ship, I found it underwhelming. The property felt outdated, and the pool area left much to be desired.

Reviewing the other options, I also dismissed the Graycliff Hotel since it wasn’t situated on the beach, and I was specifically seeking a beach experience.

The Baha Bay Waterpark at Baha Mar Resort, featuring a wave pool, a 1,400-foot lazy river, and 24 water slides, appeared spectacular. However, it seemed quite expensive, and my assumption about it being crowded with children was reinforced by online reviews. I was aiming for a more adult-oriented experience.

This left me with the Margaritaville Beach Resort and the British Colonial Hotel, which are located next to each other in the same beach area. They are so conveniently close to the Nassau docks that you can easily walk to them, and they’re visible as you arrive by sea.

Ultimately, it was the option of a cabana at the Margaritaville resort that made my decision. Priced at $273 for two before fees, it was only $73 more than two individual day passes to the resort (which were priced at $100 each). That felt like a fantastic bargain for such a significant upgrade.

When compared to the beach and pool cabanas sold by cruise lines to their passengers, this was a real steal.

In contrast, Royal Caribbean was asking between $1,199 and $1,399 for cabanas at the Hideaway Beach area of its private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, for a visit scheduled for the next day. While the Royal Caribbean cabanas were undoubtedly more luxurious and included more amenities for up to eight people, the price difference was staggering. If I wanted a cabana experience on this trip, the Margaritaville option was the clear winner.

So, it was decided: I would go with the Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau.

The Experience

Despite getting soaked, my day pass experience at the Margaritaville resort went off without a hitch.

Initially, I had concerns about the transition between ResortPass and the Margaritaville resort. Would my cabana reservation be on their system when I arrived? Would the check-in process be complicated? Fortunately, those worries were completely unfounded—it was a breeze.

Upon arriving, I informed the first staff member I encountered, a porter at the entrance, that I had booked a day pass. He directed me to a nearby check-in window. Within just a few minutes, I was relaxing in my cabana. The attendant had my name on file and promptly escorted me and my companion to the resort's pool and beach area. A pool attendant offered us a choice between a cabana by the pool or one on the beach, and we opted for the latter.

A few moments later, another staff member came over to take our food and drink orders.

As promised on the ResortPass website during our booking, the attendant informed us that she would bring two bottles of water, two sodas, and some snacks at no extra charge as part of the cabana rental. Any additional items would incur extra costs.

Being at Margaritaville, we quickly ordered two margaritas, each priced at $14.

Shortly after our drinks and snacks arrived, we spotted storm clouds gathering in the distance. We noticed the beach area beginning to empty out—definitely a bad sign. What information were the others privy to that we weren’t?

Just to confirm our impending misfortune, the attendant returned unexpectedly and informed us that she needed to close our tab early "due to the approaching storm." She hinted that this might be her last chance to see us, suggesting our beach day was about to wrap up less than an hour in.

It was around this time that I recalled the ResortPass cancellation policy. I felt foolish for not checking the weather. However, I didn’t have much time to linger on that thought—I was soon drenched.

For the next hour or so, my friend and I took shelter inside the Margaritaville resort—first in an unused restaurant and then, after a cleaner asked us to leave so she could tidy up, in a cluster of chairs along a hallway.

We munched on one of the complimentary snacks we had brought from our cabana, a bag of Doritos, while watching the rain pour down in torrents. It was a truly epic sight.

Throughout it all, we kept an eye on the clock. Our time at the resort was slipping away fast.

A significant drawback of booking a day pass through ResortPass during a cruise is that the valid hours for the passes don’t always match up with the times ships are docked.

In our situation, our ship—Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas—arrived in Nassau in the afternoon, with the gangway opening at 1:30 p.m. The deadline to reboard was at 7:30 p.m.

The cabana rental provided by ResortPass was available from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Considering the 20-minute walk from the ship to the resort, even under ideal conditions, we would have only about four hours to enjoy the cabana.

We were aware of this beforehand, of course. However, we hadn’t anticipated the storm. Ultimately, we spent only about 45 minutes in the cabana. Although the storm eventually cleared, the cabana was too wet afterward to enjoy.

I did manage to float in the resort's lazy river and take a pleasant stroll on the beach, but it was less time than I had hoped for.

The resort was pretty much as depicted in the photos on the site. It wasn't upscale; the beach area was modest and lacked a sense of privacy or luxury. The margaritas? I've had better. But the water was warm, and the sand was inviting.

If I had kids with me, they would have thoroughly enjoyed the resort's waterslides and lazy river, which were accessible to day pass holders.

Our cabana was adequate for what it was — a day bed draped with sheets, featuring four posts, a slatted wooden roof, and fabric curtains for privacy. However, its placement in a busy area right next to the beach attendant hut, surrounded by other sunbathers and a large beach buggy partially obstructing the ocean view, made it less appealing.

Although the cost to book the cabana was only slightly higher than reserving two day passes (which would have provided access to lounge chairs by the beach or pool), I didn't believe the cabana justified the extra expense — even on a day with ideal weather.

Conclusion

ResortPass is an excellent choice for cruisers seeking a day of relaxation at a beach, pool, or water park during their voyage. From my experience, the website is straightforward to use and offers a broad selection of resorts and hotels with available day passes, especially in popular cruise destinations like Nassau, Bahamas. The pricing is fair, and the cancellation policy is quite flexible.

This flexibility is particularly beneficial if, unlike me, you remember to check the weather ahead of time to ensure it's a suitable day for your resort visit. It also provides peace of mind if your ship's itinerary changes unexpectedly, allowing you to cancel your resort day pass without any fees.